The Super M I bought earlier this year has always felt to me like it has a fast road gear, faster than the M and the other Super M I'd previously owned, which in my memory would do about 17 mph in 5th.  

I'd been planning to have my son follow me in the car sometime and give me a sanity check from his speedometer, but this week the local sheriff has one of those radar-activated speed signs by the side of the road just a little ways from my house.  So as soon as I got home this evening I got the SM out and took a couple of trips past the sign, full throttle.  28 mph on the slight downgrade, 26 mph coming back up hill, call it 27 on level ground.  

Still feels way fast to me for one of these tractors, and out of concern for safety and wear and tear I won't make a practice of it.  But I'm curious about the high gear to begin with.  I know you could get low-low speed gears, but was there a high road gear setup from an aftermarket supplier or something?

Dean Vinson
Dayton, Ohio
http://www.vinsonfarm.net

p.s.  Since this is the web forum rather than the list, here's a photo!

Hello Dean,

27 MPH on an M must be close to flying.  I would be surprised if my old 42 M will do much better than 12.  Maybe 14 tops, but never checked it.  On the other hand it does not get the engine  speed that a super M does.  It almost sounds like your 5th gear has a doubler, if such a thing was ever offered.  If a fast fifth was an option from IH, there might be a code letter on the serial tag.  ??  That is a great picture of a fine looking tractor.

Charlie V.

As a teen ager the 14-15 mph was plenty darn fast. At my age today I can not fathom going 27 mph on a tractor. That is as fast as some backhoes.  That must cut the wind through the hair.

I have no idea why it is so fast. I have heard of slow tractor races, but maybe you need to start a fast tractor race. Be careful of that pretty tractor at those speeds,
Paul

Thanks, gentlemen.  Charlie, no code letters on the serial tag other than a "J" suffix, which I think means a Rockford clutch.  I think the high gear must be after-market, M&W maybe--I know they made a lot of different things, although I haven't previously heard of a high road gear.  And Paul, no worries about being careful--I don't plan to get it up to that speed often if ever, just too easy to bounce myself right off the tractor if I hit a bump or something.  This test was one thing, short duration in ideal conditions on a known smooth road, but just cruising at that speed would be something else.   Years ago I drove my other Super M to a local tractor show, taking the back roads, and 15 mph or so was more than plenty at times.  This new tractor seems to be in like-new condition, steering tight as can be, good brakes, etc, but still, 27 mph doesn't leave much room to recover if things go wrong.

I also wonder about the practicality of such a high gear to begin with, in a non-synchronized transmission.  I don't think I could start out pulling much of a load, so I wonder what the high-speed transport capability really served.

In any case, I'm still happy as a clam with this tractor.  Maybe in a few years when I find a more rural setting I can use the high-speed gear to drive over there...and then use the lower gears for more satisfying work like mowing, fenceline maintenance, hauling kids around in the wagon, etc.  :-)

Dean

Thats way too fast for me! The fastest tractor we have is a IH 454, it will do about 22. I drove a 674 once that seemed to go even faster. It was set up to straddle 2 rows and the font end had seen better days so needless to say I didn't hold it full speed long!